The Government is investing $61.7 million into the Canberra bus network to improve access and the frequency of buses across the territory.This includes: The establishment of the new, free Transport Canberra City Loop to connect commuters travelling in Canberra’s CBD;

 $43.8 million over four years to deliver existing transport services and meet increasing costs as identified in the ACTION review;

 $10 million over two years to deliver 20 new buses as part of the ongoing fleet replacement program; $3.5 million over four years for improvements to public transport services in Weston Creek and the Molonglo region. This includes a new all-day direct service called the Weston Line providing improved connectivity between Woden, Cooleman Court in Weston and the City. To meet increasing demand, Wright will receive increased coverage and frequency and the Route 83 and Xpresso 783 services will be extended to include Coombs. These new services will help make public transport a more convenient option for commuters;

 $1.5 million for the design and construction of a new Park and Ride facility in Wanniassa;

 $300,000 for improvements to the Woden bus station to provide a better bus station for the Woden town centre;

 $1.8 million for workshop upgrades to make buses more reliable; and

 $900,000 for a 12-month trial of three electric buses on ACTION’s regular on- and off-peak route services.

 A new bus depot in Woden to cater for growth in the Transport Canberra fleet. This work will provide a foundation for the future construction of a depot to enable Transport Canberra to manage buses more efficiently and reduce dead running.

Definition of Commuter Consultation or even Community Consultation: "We've made up our minds don't confuse us with the facts".

Lt. Commander Data wrote:What was the reason for it being cut - lack of patronage or lack of funding?

Either way, having a free City Loop service is always good, for tourists and students alike. Generally the word "FREE" gets people on board, just look at the free section of the tram in Adelaide.

I think it was a victim of the massive service cuts in 1996 from which ACTION never fully recovered. Eg a lot of routes were cut from 30 to 60 min daytime and peak frequencies cut from 15 - 20 to 30 min. A lot of routes also went from 7 day to 5 day with a separate weekend network.

As for the City Loop I see it as symbolic rather than real transport. The 10 min frequency is good but unidirectional running makes it too indirect to be useful. Having it free is of no benefit for those coming in from the suburbs. You want tourists to explore more than just Civic and for that they'll need a ticket. The loop also doesn't benefit those unfortunate enough to be without a car in Canberra on weekends. The lack of a weekend network map at http://www.transport.act.gov.au/routes- ... ables/maps (despite the link to it) is telling in itself.

The loop is nothing more than a political gimmick that won't last much past the next election. TC would be better off using the money to introduce 7 day service on the Red Rapid/Route 200. Every 30 min would be a good start on weekends. Rapid routes are designed to encourage regular everyday use through high frequency and (hopefully) stimulate transit-oriented development around it. It is ridiculous that such a key route does not run daily - something that would be laughed at in any other city.

PaxInfo wrote:The loop is nothing more than a political gimmick that won't last much past the next election.

Don't underestimate it. The NSW ones started off pretty much as a political gimmick. Two didn't last, but Wollongong and Parramatta took off like a rocket. The Wollongong one is the busiest bus route in NSW with 18,000 passengers a day, is almost overwhelmed by demand and is messed about by TfNSW's policy of having entrance through the front door only.

It's certainly important to have these city circulator routes bidirectional and the buses need two, even three doors with entry and exit through all doors. Seating is not so significant. Perth's CATs are an example of the job being done well.

Only Sydney, Wollongong and Parramatta survived, and Sydney's 555 went when George St closed.

Parramatta was actually started by the Council quite some years earlier than the TfNSW services.

Canberra has a little in common with Wollongong in that a fixed rail corridor cuts through the centre (in the near future in Canberra's case, in the form of the tram) and a lateral circular is needed to connect everything to the central railed corridor. Like Wollongong, it could work well in Canberra if it's done properly. The CATs in Perth also perfrom the function of circulators off rail corridors.

tonyp wrote:Canberra has a little in common with Wollongong in that a fixed rail corridor cuts through the centre (in the near future in Canberra's case, in the form of the tram) and a lateral circular is needed to connect everything to the central railed corridor. Like Wollongong, it could work well in Canberra if it's done properly. The CATs in Perth also perfrom the function of circulators off rail corridors.

I think a lot of the load for the Gong Shuttle is from University students, living on and off campus.

Glen wrote:I think a lot of the load for the Gong Shuttle is from University students, living on and off campus.

Only about 25% I recall reading. Most of the university patronage is handled by the university's own bus fleet (run by Dions). The Gong Shuttle is extraordinarily popular among general travellers is Wollongong, now the busiest bus route in NSW I believe. It has lifted public transport patronage about 11% in what is otherwise a typical car-oriented Australian regional city.

It just shows that you don't necessarily need a tram to pull this sort of trick. Quality of service is significant. Unfortunately the only thing that inhibits it is the front-door-only loading which slows it down and the timetable goes haywire. Rather than addressing the problem, TfNSW is exempting them from on-time running performance standards! Sometimes the buses will bunch, not a great help to the travelling public who are attracted to it by the idea of regular close headways.

It's so busy it needs those European 3 door low floor buses, but I guess this will never happen in Australia. Unfortunately there are a number of physical constraints on putting a tram along its route.

It needs PTA WA to come over and run it like the Perth CATs. TfNSW really doesn't have much idea.